Instead it's focusing on hiring a leader to raise money for remodeling a theater in Medford as a venue for live performance.

The foundation is a fundraising operation for the public radio system of 22 stations heard from Mendocino, Calif., to Eugene, Ore.

The broadcasts come from basement studios at the university in Ashland. School officials concerned that the foundation's projects could put university at risk and called for an audit that led to the firing of Ron Kramer as executive director.

Kramer eventually resigned his dual role as head of the foundation after tensions rose and Gov. John Kitzhaber stepped in.

The president of the foundation, Steve Nelson, said there are five finalists in the running to be the executive director of a spinoff organization called Jefferson Live!, whose task is to raise $3 million to restore the Holly Theatre in downtown Medford. It's to be a companion venue for the foundation's Cascade Theatre in Redding, Calif., with acts performing at both locations.

The Holly's facade and a cracked beam supporting the roof were restored earlier this year.

The idea of a Medford headquarters for the radio system in a remodeled grocery warehouse hasn't been abandoned, Nelson said, but "it's in a state of dormancy."